
The Debate on Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital
Vivek Chibber(Author)
Rosie Warren(Editor)
Verso Books (Publisher)
Published on 22. November 2016
Book
Paperback/Softback
304 pages
978-1-78478-695-3 (ISBN)
Description
Vivek Chibber's Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital was hailed on publication as "without any doubt . a bomb," and "the most substantive effort to dismantle the field through historical reasoning published to date." It immediately unleashed one of the most important recent debates in social theory, ranging across the humanities and social sciences, on the status of postcolonial studies, modernity, and much else. This book brings together major critics of Chibber's work to assess the adequacy of his argument from differing perspectives. Also included are Chibber's own spirited responses and reformulations in light of these criticisms.
With contributions by Partha Chatterjee, Gayatri Spivak, Bruce Robbins, Ho-fung Hung, William H. Sewell, Bruce Cumings, George Steinmetz, Michael Schwartz, David Pederson, Stein Sundstol Eriksen, and Achin Vanaik.
With contributions by Partha Chatterjee, Gayatri Spivak, Bruce Robbins, Ho-fung Hung, William H. Sewell, Bruce Cumings, George Steinmetz, Michael Schwartz, David Pederson, Stein Sundstol Eriksen, and Achin Vanaik.
Reviews / Votes
Chibber makes a strong case for why we can-and must-conceptualize the non-Western world through the same analytical lens that we use to understand developments in the West. * Jacobin * With its focus on cultural identities and mixtures, postcolonial theory ignored the larger context of capitalist relations and thus limited its scope to Western academia where it excelled in the game of growing and profiting from the liberal guilt feeling. Chibber's book simply sets the record straight, bringing postcolonialism down from cultural heights to where it belongs, into the very heart of global capitalist processes. The book we were all waiting for, a burst of fresh air dispelling the stale aroma of pseudo-radical academic establishment. -- Slavoj Zizek In this scrupulous and perceptive analysis, Vivek Chibber successfully shows that the 'universalizing categories of Enlightenment thought' emerge unscathed from the criticisms of postcolonial theorists. He shows further that-perhaps ironically-Subaltern Studies greatly underestimates the role of subaltern agency in bringing about the transformations that they attribute to the European bourgeoisie. Chibber's analysis also provides a very valuable account of the actual historical sociology of modern European development, of Indian peasant mobilization and activism, and much else. It is a very significant contribution. -- Noam Chomsky In this outstanding work-a model of clarity in its architecture and argumentation-key theorists of the 'Subaltern' and of postcoloniality have met their most formidable interlocutor and critic yet. Chibber's critique of postcolonial theory and the historical sociological studies associated with it is, at the same time, a vigorous and welcome defense of the enduring value of certain Enlightenment universals as an analytical framework to both understand and radically change the world we live in. -- Achin Vanaik Vivek Chibber has written a stunning critique of postcolonial theory as represented by the Subaltern Studies school. While eschewing all polemics, he shows that their project is undermined by their paradoxical acceptance of an essentially liberal-Whig interpretation of the bourgeois revolutions and capitalist development in the West, which provides the foundation for their fundamental assertion of the difference of the East. Through a series of painstaking empirical and conceptual studies Chibber proceeds to overturn the central pillars of the Subalternists' framework, while sustaining the credibility of Enlightenment theories. It is a bravura performance that cannot help but shake up our intellectual and political landscape. -- Robert BrennerMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 233 mm
Width: 154 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
468 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78478-695-3 (9781784786953)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Vivek Chibber | Rosie Warren
The Debate on Postcolonial Theory and the Specter of Capital
E-Book
11/2016
Verso Books
€28.99
Available for download
Previous edition

Book
11/2016
Verso Books
€106.66
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Persons
Vivek Chibber is Professor of Sociology at New York University.
Rosie Warren is Assistant Editor at Verso Books, and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Salvage.
Rosie Warren is Assistant Editor at Verso Books, and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Salvage.